An old friend from childhood posted a link for a new anime on my Facebook wall a few weeks ago. He said, “Since you’re probably one of the only other person that I know that likes anime, I thought I’d share this with you.” So, I took a look at the show, and instantly became a fan. First of all, however, I think this anime is meant more for women than men. I’m not saying men won’t enjoy it as it was a male friend who introduced me to this, but the style and the storylines seem to be catered more to a woman’s interest and perspective. I decided to take a break from my ‘Bleach’ reviews and present to you ‘Princess Jellyfish’.
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Tsukimi and Clara
When I watched the first episode, I immediately became quite excited. The intro showcases the girls in famous film settings. First clip shows them as the ‘Sex and the City’ gals, and then the next clip shows them in a Star Wars setting. All of the main characters from the show are shown in the opening montage. It definitely set the bar high for me when they showed the Star Wars material.
The story focuses on a girl named Tsukimi who is in love with jellyfish. At a young age, her mother took her to an aquarium and showed her the jellyfish, and how they looked like princesses with their long tentacles. We find out that her mother actually passes on a few months after this visit to the aquarium, so the jellyfish hold a special place in Tsukimi’s heart.
Tsukimi lives with four other girls who are “homely” like herself. They are considered NEETs (“Not in Education, Employment or Training“). They all hate being out in society for fear of women who are stylish and dressed to kill. Whenever they are approached by someone like this, they immediately turn to stone out of fear of being addressed.
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The main players of the anime
The apartment house they live in is referred to as the “nun” house. It’s a communal living home and they all hang out together. Each girl has their own unique “trait”. Tuskimi has her jellyfish, Chieko is always dressed in a traditional kimono and loves her traditional Japanese dolls, Mayaya is obsessed with ‘Records of Three Kingdoms’ and is always referring to specific battles and commanders, Banba is obsessed with trains, and then Jiji – who is obsessed with older men. There is one other woman living in the apartment, Juon Mejiro – she writes a very popular manga that the girls help put together once she’s finished with it and needs to go to print. A very eclectic household.
In the first episode, Tsukimi attempts to go into the city to an aquarium to see jellyfish and becomes too frightened by society and runs back home. Feeling bad for herself, she decides to take a stroll and comes to a pet shop where there are two jellyfish in a tank together. However, these two jellyfish aren’t supposed to be together – one will kill the other off due to its toxicity. So naturally, Tsukimi begins to pound on the door wanting to warn the clerk of the impending jellyfishs’ doom. He pushes her back and she bumps into a ‘stylish’ who then comes to her defense.
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The Stylish and Tsukimi
Tsukimi can’t talk around the stylish because she’s too afraid. The stylish bargains with the clerk saying to let her take the jellyfish home since it’s just going to die anyway. Tsukimi names the jellyfish Clara and her and the stylish, whose name is Kuranosuke, return to the apartment house.
Kuranosuke goes up to Tsukimi’s room and then grabs a blanket and states that she’s tired. She passes out on the floor as Tsukimi makes Clara comfortable in the bathtub (she hasn’t bought the necessary equipment to house said jellyfish, so it’s a make-shift tank for now). She walks back into her room and sees Kuranosuke passed out on her floor. They wake up the next morning and Tsukimi receives another surprise. Turns out that Kuranosuke is actually a boy (no boys allowed in the apartment house) who likes to wear women’s clothing. She is shocked and passes out.
There is pretty much everything in this anime, so far. Romance, drama, intrigue, comedy. I’ve only given you a description of the first episode because I don’t want to spoil the rest for you. We do meet Kuranosuke’s family – his father and half brother Shū are in politics. Shū becomes an important character in later episodes. And he’s particularly handsome (for a cartoon, that is).
There are going to be 11 episodes for this anime. You can watch them here. They post the episode the same day it airs in Japan, which is quite nice. This anime originated as a serial manga for the manga magazine Kiss in 2008. I really enjoy this anime and am going to be sad when it ends. There are only three episodes left. So, if you have some free time and have enjoyed what you read, definitely check this out. You won’t be disappointed.
